


Protector

by glarix7699



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:21:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23875378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glarix7699/pseuds/glarix7699
Summary: Beacon Hills looked like a normal town on textbook, but creatures from fairy tales lurk in the dark unbeknownst to everyone. Serena Masters is one of these people. Former best friends to Scott and Stiles, Serena reunites with them after a frightful event that’s going to change the town forever and secrets will begin to unfold. This story will follow the plotline of TW with occasional changes to accommodate Serena’s backstory.
Relationships: Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Lydia Martin/Jackson Whittemore, Stiles Stilinski/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is a work in progress and more so of a project that was just meant for me and for fun writing. This story basically follows the plot of TW to the T except for this time I added my own original character to mix it up a bit. I would be surprised if anyone would read it but it's mostly for my own pleasure and for others if people still like this kind of story. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Serena walked quietly through the woods carefully so as to not disturb the tranquil night before the first day of second semester. She was supposed to be inside of her house sleeping but a friend had called her saying he was having some troubles. He didn’t say much but only that he was having family issues. 

She stopped walking and looked around. It was so dark she could barely see the branches except only when they appeared in front of the moon that lit them up. She was sure he was supposed to meet here but as far as she knew there was nothing. 

She took out her phone and typed a quick message to him. The sound of soft rustling caught her ears. Suddenly, a dark figure jumped out, his hands outstretched to catch her off guard. She predicted his movements just in time and grappled his arm to throw him to the ground. 

“You should be less noisy next time.” Serena dusted off her hands on her jeans. Little dark strands of her hair were tickling her face. She brushed them away to stop them from sticking to her. 

Her friend let out a grunt and pushed himself up. “And you haven’t changed much. Except for the fact that you grew and got stronger it seems.” He popped out his muscles to release the pain and tension. 

A soft smile appeared on her lips. “Well, Derek, I am maturing. It’s only natural I get stronger.” She noticed his dark eyebrows were furrowing over and over. “Is everything okay though? You called at an alarming time.”

Derek let out a deep sigh almost like he was gasping for his last breath. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. Serena patiently waited for him to speak up knowing it was best that she shouldn’t push him to talk. 

“It’s Laura. She’s dead.”

Serena’s heart rate picked up but she willed herself to calm down. “Like natural causes?” She knew that was a stupid question but she didn’t want to believe that an Alpha could die so easily. A small part of her somehow knew it was anything but sickness. 

“Murder. Another werewolf.” Derek’s jaws tensed up. She could tell this was already hitting him like a truck. He lost another family member, his sister at that. Excluding Derek and his uncle, she wondered if there were even more of his family alive. At this point, it seems like his lineage might come to an end. 

Then it struck her. His last comment. “Another werewolf? But who would be targeting Laura?”

“I don’t know,” Derek said. His eyes were casted down onto the ground. “I just need you to be careful and keep an eye out. You’re the only one I can trust right now.”

“Of course. And you as well.”

“I think I’ll be fine.” 

“You almost got beaten by a fifteen year old girl.”

He rolled his eyes. “That was just luck.”

“And you’re just not admitting defeat.” Serena walked to his side and patted his chest. “Be safe and have a good night!” With that, she strolled back towards the entrance of Beacon Hills Reserves. 

#

“Thanks for the ride, Lydia,” Serena said slinging her backpack over her shoulders. 

Lydia checked herself out in her side mirrors before flipping a strand of her strawberry-blonde curls behind her. “No problem. We didn’t want you coming in one of those dingy school buses on the first day back.”

“But I don’t ride the bus?”

“Oh still, we don’t want to ruin our image.”

“You mean your image.” 

“Exactly. Now, come on.” Lydia stuck out her arm for Serena to loop her own arm through and the two of them walked to the front of the school.

While passing by Serena noticed two old faces standing by and talking. One with a buzz cut and the other with shaggy hair. Scott and Stiles. She would already hear Stiles’ voice excitedly go off about something while Scott stood with the same lop-sided smile on his face. As they were passing by, she barely heard Stiles make a comment about Lydia not even paying much attention to her. If only she could punched that stupid smile off of his face. 

Serena loves Lydia like her own sister but my god she despises Stiles for being head over heels for her. She never forgave him for what he did to her. 

#

First period was English, and of course she had to have the same class with them. She sat right of Scott while Stiles sat behind and diagonally from his own best friend. Before class started, Scott had shot her a smile earning him one back. 

“As you all know, there indeed was a body found in the woods last night,” the teacher began. 

Serena's eyes shot wide open. A body? Laura’s body? 

“And I am sure your eager little minds are coming up with various macabre scenarios as to what happened. But I am here to tell you that the police have a suspect in custody, which means you can give your undivided attention to the syllabus which is on your desk outlining this semester.”

The groan of students was evident that nobody wanted to read the syllabus but the teacher chose to ignore it anyways. Before class could continue, the door opened and the vice principal walked in with a pretty young girl in tow. She shyly looked around.

“Class, this is our new student, Allison Argent. Please do your best to make her feel welcome.”

A crease appeared between Serena’s brow. She wasn’t sure what caused the confused reaction but she was sure she heard the name before, but where? The vice-principal left the room as Allison made her way to the empty seat behind Scott. 

“We’ll begin with Kafka’s Metamorphosis, on page one thirty-three,” the teacher said. Serena did what was told and began to zone out. 

#  
  


“There’s a new girl in school. Her name is Allison Argent, quite pretty too.” Serena met up with Lydia by her locker after the day ended. 

“And you’re telling me because?”

Serena playfully rolled her eyes. “Because I think she’s nice and she could use a few friends. You’re the most popular girl in the school, why not say hi?” Just then, dark curly locks caught her eye at the end of the hallway. She nudged her friend. “Her. That’s Allison.” Lydia took a few seconds inspecting the girl like some juicy prey out in the wild. She could hear a slight hum coming out of her. 

“Let’s go,” Lydia announced, shutting her locker and clicking her boots away to the shy new girl. 

Serena followed suit behind the determined girl but halted when she noticed Scott and Stiles opposite of Allison’s locker. Usually, their presence didn’t faze her but the way Scott froze in place made her question what he was doing. He was already odd to begin with but not that odd to stare from afar. She told herself not to listen to their own conversation and turned back to Lydia and Allison.

“You know Serena, right?” Lydia nudged her forward. 

“Oh yeah, we have English together,” Allison said.

“Lucky you. You have one of the smartest kids in your classes.”

Serena scoffed. “I’m not that smart.”

“Says the one who’s dad is literally an English professor at UCLA.”

A small burst of air whizzed past and someone wrapped their arms around Lydia’s small waist. “Hey Jackson.” She turned around and gave the handsome lacrosse player a kiss. “So, this weekend, there’s a party.”

“A party?” Allison asked. 

“Yeah, Friday night,” Jackson confirmed.

“You should come! It’ll be fun,” Serena added. 

Allison shrugged. “Uh, I can’t. It’s family night this Friday. Thanks for asking.” 

Jackson furrowed his brows. “You sure? Everyone’s going after the scrimmage.”

“You mean like football?” 

Everyone chuckled except for Allison.

“Football’s a joke in Beacon. The sport here is lacrosse. We’ve won the state championship for the past three years.”

Lydia brushed at his gelled hair. “Because of a certain team captain.”

Serena didn’t want to be one to correct her saying Jackson was only a sophomore making it possible that he only had one state championship under his belt. Then again, she knew Lydia was smart enough to know and this whole thing was an act. 

“Well, we have practice in a few minutes. That is, if you don’t have anywhere else--”

“Well, I was going to--”

Lydia gripped a cuff of Allison’s jacket. “Perfect, you’re coming!” Lydia gestured for Serena to follow behind and she was going to until she noticed Scott’s vacant stare in their direction. She politely waved but when Stiles made eye contact with her she immediately dropped her hand and glared right back. 

She turned her heel and marched with the group. The last thing she heard was Stiles’ saying “She’s still mad?”


	2. Wolf Moon Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serena attends a couple of lacrosse practices but figures something is wrong with her former best friend. She's not the only one to notice as Stiles feels the same way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: hope you enjoy it!

Lydia led the girls to the benches where anyone could watch the players practice. Serena spotted her two favorite people heading towards their own bench. Even though they don’t talk anymore, she still felt bad that they barely get to play anyways. At least Coach Finstock was nice to put them on the team. 

The coach yelled for the team to get ready for the first practice. The players lined up in front of the goalie, and the goalie was the least qualified to be goalie, Scott. Serena could already feel the pressure that was building on his shoulders. He never really played goalie, let alone play all season, and the Coach knew it. Easy shots for the team though. She rested her chin on the palms of her hands. 

“Who’s that?” Allison nodded her head towards the goalie.

“Him? I’m not sure who he is. Why?” Lydia answered. Serena knew Lydia did know who that was since they all had been going to the same school since they were young. She chose not to comment. 

“He’s in my English class.”

The referee blew the whistle to signal practice to begin. Serena’s eyes landed on Scott who all of a sudden began to clutch his helmet in agony like some loud noise was blasting through his ears. She raised her eyebrows at his weird behavior. Before Scott could regain his senses, a player stepped up to the field and threw the ball already ignoring that his teammate was in pain. The ball soared through the air and directly smacked Scott’s helmet. The poor boy fell over while everyone chuckled at his clumsiness. 

“Hey, way to catch with your face, McCall!” Jackson mocked, earning a laugh from his teammates and Coach. 

Serena puffed out her cheeks. Even though Jackson was technically her friend, and a bully to Scott and Stiles, she still cared for them in small doses. She prayed that Scott could do a miracle run and catch at least one ball. 

Scott got up and twirled the goalie stick in his hands, this time he looked very determined to do it right. The next player ran up and the white ball flew through the air. Everyone watched in anticipation. Before anyone knew it, Scott maneuvered the stick to his right and the hall landed safely in the net. It was dead silent except for Stiles’ little laugh that came from the benches. 

Ball after ball passed through the air and not a single one touched the goal. Scott was catching everyone of them like a pro. 

“He seems like he’s pretty good,” Allison commented. 

“Oh, very good,” Lydia said. 

“Too good,” Serena added. Somehow, she knew Scott couldn’t have gotten that good over break. She knew he was a hard worker but to the point of perfection was something she never really saw when they were growing up. A small part of her wanted to believe he got good naturally, but something seemed off about him. 

A fed up Jackson cut his way in the line to take a shot at trying to humiliate Scott. Serena could tell that he was threatened by another good player on the team and it was that of Scott McCall. He ran forward trying his best to make a diagonal line to throw Scott off. He jumped in the air and threw the ball as hard as he could muster, but it was unfortunate that it was like other attempts. Scott caught the ball. The entire crowd erupted in cheers. Serena jumped from her seat and clapped along with Lydia. 

It was as if it was a miracle run and the asthma ridden boy was suddenly the star player on the field. 

#

“Do you know anyone named Scott McCall?” Derek asked. He did his last push up and went over to the overhanging bar in the doorway. 

Serena leaned against the broken door frame. She knew that Derek didn’t want to move because his old house was so sentimental to him, but the amount of splinters you could get in this place is life threatening. She scrunched up her nose. “Yeah, he’s a classmate of mine.” She refrained from adding in the fact that they were former best friends. “How do you know him?” she asked. 

He did his tenth pull up on the bar. “I think you need to watch out for him,” he said, avoiding answering her question. 

“For what? He’s harmless.”

“There’s a full moon this Friday.”

“There is, and what about it? You don’t have to worry.”

“Not me.”

And there it was. Serena didn’t have to ask who Derek meant because his first question already answered it. She didn’t suspect anything until she saw Scott on the field. The sudden strength, the agility, the hearing pain from the whistle were all signs that she picked up when he practiced. She knew that there was no way he got that good over winter break unless he was taking some type of stimulant, but even a stimulant couldn’t make someone that good at lacrosse overnight. 

“I’ll keep an eye out. There’s a party this Friday, I think he might be there,” Serena said. She pushed herself from the door frame and walked down the hallway. Derek stopped exercising and dropped himself down onto his feet. Serena heard the thud and turned around awaiting his next comment as usual.

“He’s going to need someone to help him.”

“You think it should be me?”

“Your kind has worked alongside werewolves for many years, protecting them even.”

She let out a sigh. “Then I’ll be his protector.”

#

It was another day of lacrosse practice where Serena sat herself on the cold metal benches waiting for the players to get ready. She told Lydia and Allison that she was going to head to the field early to get some seats but it was just an easy excuse to keep an eye out on Scott who was by the bench putting his gloves on at the moment. So far, nothing seemed out of place. He was calm like the normal Scott she knew. Just as things were calm, she caught a glimpse of a spastic Stiles running towards his best friend who was even more confused as to why Stiles was such out of breath. She perked her ears to hone in on their conversation.

“Stiles, I’m playing the first elimination, man. Can it wait?” Scott said. 

“Just hold on, okay?” Stiles said, taking a deep breath. “I overheard my dad on the phone. The fiber analysis came back from the lab in L.A. They found animal hairs on the body from the woods.”

They had to be talking about Laura. There were no other dead bodies recently and from how Stiles voiced was shrilled and panicked she knew that they were talking about the dead werewolf. But, why was Stiles so frantic? Serena knew he liked weird things like this but he sounded afraid almost like he was afraid Scott was in danger. 

Before she could listen in further, the whistle from Coach startled her breaking her concentration. Scott dismissed himself to leave Stiles looking glum. She saw Stiles mouthed one last sentence and strained her ears to listen one last time. 

“It was a wolf,” was what she heard coming from Stiles. He almost sounded sad. She stopped listening and pressed her hands onto the cold bench. Before she could think more on the subject, Allison and Lydia hopped down next to her. 

“Hey!” Lydia said. Allison smiled at Serena and she smiled back. “I hope we didn’t miss much.”

Serena smiled. “No, you made it on time. The match’s about to begin.” When she said that, the Coach blew the whistle and the match started. It was the elimination round to see who was going to make it to the first line and for those who were meant to be on the bench. Serena locked her eyes on Scott making sure to take notice of any sudden changes. He caught his first ball but Jackson was quick to knock him down. The next round started and this time Scott and Jackson were head to head. Serena could feel the rivalry tension from her seat. 

When the whistle blew to signal the two to start, Scott was quick to get the ball and out he went towards the goal. The other players tried to block him but Scott maneuvered around like it was no problem. Before he could get to the goal, some players created a wall to stop him, but that didn’t stop Scott. He effortlessly jumped right over them and as he landed he threw the ball in between the goalie’s leg. 

Coach Finstock called him over probably because he was as in much disbelief as the crowd was. “What in God’s name was that? This is a lacrosse field. What, are you trying out for the gymnastics team?”

Scott shook his head. “No, coach.”

“What the hell was that?” Coach said making sure to put the emphasis on hell. 

“I don’t know. I was just trying to make the shot.”

A wide grin slowly appeared on the coach's face. “Yeah, well, you made the shot. And guess what? You’re startin’, buddy, You made first line.” Everyone erupted into cheers, except for two people. Serena should be happy but she was unsure whether Scott was understanding his advantages. He seemed as clueless as the next goldfish in a vacant fishbowl.

She looked towards the benches where Stiles sat and saw that she wasn’t the only cheering. His hand was rubbing his chin like he was also contemplating his best friend’s strange transformation. And he may be the only one who might know something besides Serena.


	3. Wolf Moon Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As it nears the first full moon of the semester, Serena has her eyes out for Scott who may turn under the influence of the moon. The night of the party may be the night that they all come back together again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoy it!

Serena did the last touchup of her makeup. Tonight was the party at Lydia’s house and everyone was going to be there. Usually, she would be excited but after learning that Scott may be a danger to himself and others tonight, she was far from happy to be partying. Light footsteps entered her room.

“Oh, sweetie you look gorgeous.” Her step-mother said. She stopped behind Serena and played with the strands of her hair. “I bet you have every boy falling for you.”

“That’s a total lie,” Serena said giggling. 

“Do you have a date?” 

“Nope.”

“What about Sti--” Before her step-mother could respond, Serena made a huge frown in the mirror and she caught on. “Oh that’s right, I’m sorry sweetie. It’s just you guys used to hang out all the time with Scott.”

Serena closed her makeup palettes and put the brushes on top to remind her to clean them. “Yeah, we used to,” she mumbled. She swiveled in her chair. “I better get going or I’m going to be late. Lydia wanted me over early to help her set up the last decorations before people get there.” 

Her step-mom gave a kiss to her temple. “Be safe, it’s a full moon tonight.” Serena knew it wasn't a warning for her. 

Serena arrived at Lydia's house and earned a full lecture on how everything was absolutely perfect for the first party of the semester. Serena agreed with everything she said but sometimes she would zone out when she caught a glimpse of the full moon leering down at them. She hoped Derek’s theory was wrong and that perhaps Scott wasn’t a werewolf and he was a perfectly good teenager that just got good at lacrosse over the break. 

Serena found herself near the drink and food area as the party went on. More and more people piled in and she politely said her greetings to everyone who passed by her. Her head always whipped up whenever someone new came through the door in hopes that one of them might be Scott. When she heard a familiar voice, her head whipped up to see if he walked through the door but her eyes met with someone she didn’t expect to meet. Stiles walked through the door in a nice button-down and tie with basic khaki pants. They both noticed each other and quickly diverted their gaze somewhere more interesting. She thought that if Stiles walked through the door then surely Scott would have joined him. 

Just as she thought this, the new star player walked through the doors with someone besides his side. It was Allison. Serena furrowed her brows. Since when did Scott ask girls out? As he passed by her at the drinks table, the two made eye contact and shot each other a sly smile. Allison gave a quick hello and Serena did the same but she knew that Scott wanted his time alone with her so she broke away from her scouting position and headed towards one of the hallways. 

The party was going well so far. Even though the moon was at its highest peak, there seem to be no complications whatsoever. Serena was talking with a couple of classmates when suddenly, someone stumbled past them and doubled over like they were gonna throw up. She didn’t care at first thinking that it was one of the people who over drank, but the familiar flop of hair made her do a double-take. 

“Scott, are you okay?” She knew that was a dumb question to ask. Scott muttered something before pushing past the crowd of people in the hallways. She excused herself from the group and tailed Scott until they made it outside. Not before long, Stiles was right behind her almost colliding into her back. He definitely grew taller. He brushed past her and ran to his Jeep. 

“Wait!” She ran to the passenger side. “Take me with you. I think I can help.” 

Stiles looked at her across the hood of the car. He licked his lips in frustration. After three years of not speaking to each other and finally she spoke to him. She didn’t what compelled her to do so but she knew that Stiles could take her right to where Scott ran off to. If he said no, she’ll still be able to track him down but something inside of her wanted to be with him.

“Fine, get in,” he said. They both hopped into the car and Stiles sped down the road. In the side-view mirror, Serena saw two figures walking towards a black car on the side of the road. At first, she didn’t care for them until she noticed that one of them was wearing a black leather jacket. 

“Derek?” she whispered.

Stiles looked to his side at his former best friend. “Like Derek Hale? He’s here?” He tried to look at his side-view mirror but when they veered to the left a little, he focused his attention back to the front. “What’s he doing?” He didn’t even question that Serena called Derek on a first name basis. 

“I think he’s taking Allison home.” She saw her friend’s curly hair disappear into the black Camaro. Stiles didn’t say anything and continued to speed down the road to get to Scott in time.

It wasn’t long before they got to Scott’s house. They jumped out of the car and headed towards the front door. Stiles ran up the stairs but Serena stopped at the foot of them. She could have followed him but something inside of her told her to stay put until further notice. She looked around. His house was the same as ever. 

“No!” Scott growled. Serena perked her ears up to catch the conversation. “Listen, you gotta find Allison.” Judging from his growling and clenched speech, Serena knew that Scott wasn’t having a great time with the transformation. 

“She’s fine, all right? I saw her get a ride from the party. She’s totally fine, all right?” Stiles said. 

“No, I think I know who it is.”

“You just let me in. We can try--”

“It’s Derek,” Scott said. Serena’s eyes shot wide open. “Derek Hale is the werewolf. He’s the one that bit me. He’s the one that killed the girl in the woods.” 

“Scott, Derek’s the one who drove Aliison from the party.” As Stiles said that, the door slammed shut and the repeated pounding from Stiles’ was imminent that Scott locked him out. After a couple more tries to get inside, Stiles ran downstairs almost slipping on the carpet below. 

“Where’s Scott?” Serena followed him to the Jeep. She stopped besides the driver’s side with Stiles. “Where did he go?” 

Stiles ran a hand through his buzz cut. Serena missed his longer hair but thought he still looked good either way. 

“The woods probably.”

“And where are you going?” She moved to the side to give room for Stiles to climb into his seat. He turned on the engine and waited for her to get next to him. 

“Allison’s to see if she made it alive.” 

Serena handed her phone to him. “Her address is in my contact books. I’ll go look for Scott.” Before she sprinted away, she felt his hand tug on her wrist. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you know what you’re even doing?”

“Trust me on this. I know a lot more than you think.” She pulled away and dashed towards Beacon Hills Reserves. 

She tracked down Scott’s scent until she saw two figures wrestling around on the leaf ridden floor. She thought about stopping them until she heard more footsteps approaching the two werewolves. Derek mouthed something to Scott and took off leaving the poor newly transformed werewolf in a state of confusion. Scott stumbled forward but before he could follow Derek a flash bolt flew into the tree near him. Serena found Derek through his scent. 

“I thought I told you to keep an eye on him,” he growled. 

“I’m trying!” 

The two heard the footsteps approaching closer to Scott. The poor boy had an arrow stuck in his arm leaving him rooted in his place. Three guys came into view. Two men, who Serena could tell were the henchmen, were holding a shotgun and the one in the middle was wielding a large crossbow. 

“I’ll take the one on the right,” Derek said. 

“And I’ll take the left.” 

They moved in sync, being careful not to make their locations known. Derek took the first guy out to distract the leader. When he was taken care of, Serena grabbed a handful of the man’s jacket and flung him into the tree behind. She quickly ran away to avoid being caught. 

As she caught up with Derek and Scott, she heard the two engaged in a very heated discussion.

“I don’t want it,” Scott said. His chest heaved from exhaustion and adrenaline. 

“You will.” Derek crouched closer to meet his face. “And you’re gonna need me if you want to learn how to control it. So you and me Scott, we’re brothers now.” He sat up and walked away into the darkness of the forest.

Serena jogged up to Scott and crouched down to meet his eye. “You alright?”

“Why are you here?” She could see the one hundred questions in his eyes. “Do you know about this stuff?”

She sighed. It was bound to come up someday. “Yeah. I’m sorry for keeping this secret for so long.” She helped him to his feet.

“Then you’re a werewolf too?”

She brushed from bits of leaf and soil from his body. “Oh no, I’m different. Come on, let’s get you home.” She gently guided him towards the edge of the forest. 

The sun already came up by the time they ventured out onto the road. The two engaged in a very friendly conversation even as to catch up on each other's lives. She told Scott of her engagement with werewolves but she wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to reveal what she was. That detail remained hidden. She switched the topic to Allison and bombarded Scott with questions upon questions as to how he scored a date with a beautiful girl like her. He chuckled at her disbelief. 

“You probably healed by now.” She nodded at his hand covering his right arm where he got struck. 

“But it still hurts.” He winced thinking about the pain. 

“Probably because you don’t know how to fight against the wound.”

“How do you do it?”

“You’ll learn.” 

A baby blue jeep stopped next to them. Serena hid behind Scott who already opened the door to the passenger seat. He turned around to signal her to get in first but awkwardly stood there when he realized the situation. After an awkward second, Stiles nodded at her and she climbed into the backseat.

“You know what actually worries me the most?” Scott said, leaning against the window. They were a couple of minutes into the ride. 

Stiles looked in the rearview mirror and rolled his eyes with Serena. Despite not being around each other, they knew exactly what they always thought. 

“If you say Allison, I’m gonna punch you in the head,” Stiles said.

Scott winced, not at the pain, but at the cold-shoulder he could get from his crush. “She probably hates me now.”

“I don’t think so,” Serena said. “But, you may want to come up with an amazing apology for ditching her at the party.”

“Or, you know, you could just tell her the truth and revel in the awesomeness of the fact that you’re a frickin’ werewolf,” Stiles added. This earned him a smack on the shoulder from Serena and a glare from Scott. “Okay, bad idea.” He patted his best friend. “We’ll get through this. Come on, if I have to, I’ll chain you up myself on full moon nights and feed you live mice. I had a boa once. I could do it.”

Serena chuckled while looking down at some loose threads from her skirt. Stiles looked in the rear-view mirror and smiled with her. 

Somehow it felt like the old days when they hang as a trio. Sometimes Serena hated herself for ditching them. She loved them and still did even when they weren't on speaking terms. She always thought that she should have been the one to apologize but her stubbornness got in the way. To think that a werewolf bite was what got them to be together again, it was something out of a storybook. 


	4. Second Chance (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an eventful Friday night, Serena and Stiles have to help Scott learn his ways of being a werewolf before the big game, and Serena gets a letter from her father who may know a thing or two of the dangers at Beacon Hills.

“Now that we’re all caught up in this werewolf business, care to explain what you are?” Stiles and Serena were walking towards the boys locker room. Ever since Friday night, all Stiles wanted to talk about were werewolves, hunters, and whatever the heck she was. She always managed to dodge the last question. Even though he knew about werewolves, she wasn’t so sure he was ready to learn what she was. 

“Care to explain why we’re still worrying about me when Scott almost died from hunters?” Serena leaned against the wall next to the door of the locker room. “We should be helping Scott right now, I’m the least of your worries.” Some of the players walked by whispering as they noticed the two old friends. She pushed off the wall. “Make sure nothing happens.” She patted him on the chest and left to go to the library to get her homework done. 

Serena twirled the pen in her hand while reading a passage from her English textbook. After much needed boredom from reading the passage over and over, she glanced at the time on her phone. Practice was supposed to start a couple of minutes ago. She only hoped that Scott wasn’t freaking out and starting some type of scene with his newfound powers. 

The sound of stomping cleats echoed in her ears. She thought it must have been her imagination, but when they became more frantic and uneven she became frightened. She packed all of her stuff into her bag and ran out of the library. The sound took her to the boys locker room and the scents that she picked were no other than her two friends. Stiles ran out with a fire extinguisher in his hands. Sweat was dripping down his forehead and his body was shaking from adrenaline. 

“What happened?” She walked towards the door but Stiles pushed her back. She was about to protest but a soft “Stiles,” stopped her. They headed inside where Scott sat defeatedly on the benches. She didn’t have to ask to know that Scott must have transformed during practice. 

“What happened?” he asked. 

“You tried to kill me,” Stiles said, crouching down to meet him eye-level. 

“What made you turn?” Serena asked. Scott quickly glanced up unaware that she entered the scene. 

“I don’t--I don’t know,” Scott mumbled. 

“It’s like I told you before. It’s the anger. It’s your pulse rising. It’s a trigger,” Stiles said. She was impressed that he caught on so fast.

“But that’s lacrosse. It’s a pretty violent game, if you hadn’t noticed.”

She crossed her arm. “Yeah, and it’s going to get a lot more violent if you end up killing someone on the field.” She and Stiles made brief eye contact. They were about to drop some bad news for Scott.

“You can’t play Saturday. You’re gonna have to get out of the game,” Stiles said.

“I’m first line.”

“Not anymore.”

#

After some arguing back and forth on whether Scott should play or not, they went back to their homes. Stiles dropped her off and reminded her that they were to chat tonight for more information on an injured Jackson and the mysterious killer roaming around Beacon Hills. 

As Serena placed her shoes in the rack, her step-mom walked up to her with a little pep in her step. She could practically smell the excitement off of her but couldn’t say why her step-mom was so happy on a Monday. 

“You alright?” Serena asked, chuckling.

“Was that Stiles I saw? Have you guys made up?” Her mother took her jacket and folded it over her arm. “I thought you guys weren’t friends anymore.”

“Project partners, for English,” she lied. “We stayed after school to work on some stuff so he dropped me off.” 

Her step-mother furrowed her brows. “I’m surprised you didn’t pester the teacher to switch partners.” 

“Yeah, I just thought this wouldn’t hurt, which reminds me,” Serena jabbed a thumb to the stairs, “I have homework.” She slipped past and took one step when suddenly her step-mother shuffled in the living room.

“Oh! I forgot to tell you.” She came back with an envelope. “Your dad sent you a letter this afternoon. I was so absorbed in my work that I almost forgot it came today. Those novels needed a lot of polishing.” She delicately handed it to Serena who took it like she was handling with fire. 

After a nice dinner, with the occasion of questions about Stiles and Scott, Serena eagerly ran upstairs to finally read the letter. She threw the empty envelope into the trashcan and unfolded it to see it filled with words. She sat down by her desk and turned on the lamp.

The letter read:

_ Dear Serena,  _

_ I hope that school is going well for you. It’s the winter season which means lacrosse season is starting, go Cyclones! I know you haven’t talked with Scott and Stiles but at least attend a game of theirs. I’m sure they would like the support from an old face. I hope everything is well for you at home and your mother. I promise I’ll visit sometime during this semester, hopefully spring break. Anything new in town? I heard on the news that half a body was found in the woods. I would warn you to be careful but knowing you, you probably don’t need warning. If you need help with anything, feel free to write it down. I’ll do my best to find any information on any creature or lore. I’ll always miss you and please take care. _

_ Love,  _

_ Dad _

As if it was on cue, the video chat from Stiles ringed on her laptop. She clicked the accept button and a smiling Stiles with a toy gun appeared on screen. Scott appeared in his own frame with a slight frown to his face.

“What’d you find out?” he asked.

“Well, Lydia told me Jackson’s got a separated shoulder,” Serena answered, not looking up. Her eyes were still glued to the letter. 

“Because of me?”

“Because he’s a tool,” Stiles said. He threw the toy to the side. 

“But, is he gonna play?” Scott asked anxiously. 

“I don’t have much but even they don’t know yet,” Serena said. She stood up and walked over to her little chest on her dresser where the rest of the letters were. 

“Now, they’re just counting on you for Saturday,” Stiles said as she was unlocking the chest with a little key she always kept under the chest. She carefully folded it and placed it inside with the other letters and when she walked back to her laptop only Stiles was on screen. 

Panic flooded her body. “Where’s Scott?” 

“What? You didn’t see that?”

“See what? What did I miss?” Her eyes flicked to the chat room and she noticed his messages. Someone was behind Scott? “Did you see who it was?”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Oh yes, why didn’t I think of just seeing who it was on my mini webcam?” 

“Bye Stiles.” She closed her laptop and immediately picked up her phone to text Derek. Who else would effortlessly climb in Scott’s house and mysteriously stand in the background of his dark room? God, he’s so odd sometimes. 

She waited for what seemed like a hundred hours for he texted her back. 

_ Derek _ :  _ if he messes up, everyone’s coming for us  _


	5. Second Chance (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio finds something peculiar at Derek's house and the day of the game is approaching closer than they thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoy!

Serena rummaged through her locker to get the right textbook for her next class. Once she found the familiar green textbook, she stuffed it into her bag and closed her locker. As she closed it, she picked up two familiar voices nearby. She followed the voices until she rounded a corner where she saw Scott and Stiles around their own corner. She strained her ears to pick up their conversation.

“Unbelievable,” Stiles said, throwing up his hands. “My dad’s out looking for a rabid animal, while the jerk-off who actually killed the girl is just hanging out, doing whatever he wants.”

“Well, you can’t exactly tell your dad the truth about Derek,” Scott said.   
“I can do something.”

“Like what?” 

“Find the other half of the body.” Stiles dismissed himself from the conversation and walked down the other hallway. Serena quickly hid around to avoid being seen by either of them.

They think that Derek was the one who killed the girl in the woods, unbeknownst that she was someone close. She made a mental note to try and catch Derek tonight to warn him of their plans of “exposing him.”

Just as she turned the corner, a blur of plaid covered her view. She jumped back from the sudden appearance of Stiles. She really needs to work on her hearing. 

“What are you doing? Trying to scare me?”

“Do you know anything about the body?” He lowers his voice towards the last bit. 

“From the woods?”

“No, from the science classroom.”

The bell rang. She brushed against him to get to her class. “I know of the body, but if you mean the location I’m pretty much a lost cause.”

“Then, you can help us. With Scott and you, you can track it down with your weird smelling abilities.” He followed her into the classroom. She was going to question why he even did but came to the realization that they shared the same history class. 

“I have homework to do tonight, so I probably can’t go with you.” That wasn’t a total lie. 

“Then, fine,” he said, taking a seat behind her. “We’ll just look for it ourselves.”

#

That night, Serena went out to look for Derek to tell him of the ridiculous assumption of Scott and Stiles that he was the one who murdered Laura. She tried texting him but she didn’t get an answer back which made her go out in the first place. 

When she neared the abandoned house, she heard two voices up ahead. She slowed her pace and began to tiptoe to avoid being caught. She summoned her spirit gauntlets and rounded the corner of the house. The footsteps and voices were nearing her and when they were just in reach, she jumped out only to have two boys screaming at her causing her to scream back. 

“Scott! Stiles! What the hell are you doing?” 

Stiles pointed at him and Scott. “Us? What-what are you doing with those?” He gestured to her hands.

“I thought you had homework?” Scott asked. Stiles must have told him.

Her eyes grew wide at the sight of her gauntlets still in her hands. She made them go away with a flick of her wrist. “Oh, those? Just accessories, you know girl things.”

“Ah, how could I forget girls love carrying large claws around their arms. Now, what the hell are you?”

“If I tell you, would you stop asking me?”

“Gladly.”

Serena took a deep breath through her nose. “I’m a cat, a cat sith.”

The two boys glanced at each other waiting for one of them to give her recognition or her new identity. “So, you’re a cat?” Scott finally said. 

“Half,” she said, crossing her arms. “Just think of it as being a werewolf minus the transformation of the face and claws. I just have the fangs and gauntlets.”

“This just got even more awesome,” Stiles said. He leaned against his shovel. “Two of my best friends, were-creatures. Who would’ve thought?”

“What are you guys doing here anyways?” she asked. 

“We could ask you the same question. Do you know Derek?” Scott said. She pursed her lips. She should’ve seen that one coming. 

“You can say that we’re mutuals.” She eyed the shovels and to the ground next to them. When she did, she caught a waft of decaying blood. She crouched down and sniffed closer, gaining odd expressions from the two boys. 

“You smell it too then?” Scott said. 

“Yeah, I’m guessing that explains the shovels.”

Stiles did the honors of digging the first hole from the ground. “Exactly, which means we better hurry before Derek gets back.” 

Serena watched from the sidelines watching the hole get bigger and bigger. She didn’t know how long they were digging but it seemed like forever and they were hitting nothing. 

“This is taking way too long,” Scott said. 

“Just keep going,” Stiles said, digging another handful of dirt and throwing it over his shoulder. 

“What if he comes back?”

“Then we get the hell out of here.”

“And what if he catches us?” Serena said, stepping next to the hole. They were deep enough that they should’ve hit something but who knows who deep Derek dug this hole. She craned her neck to look further. 

“I have a plan for that,” Stiles answered.

“Which is?”

“You run one way, we run the other. Whoever he catches first, too bad.”

“I hate that plan,” Scott said, heaving another shovel full of dirt behind him. 

Suddenly, their shovel thumped into something hard. “Stop, stop, stop.” Stiles threw his shovel away and bent down to inspect the dirty cloth they found. The boys began to untie the knots of a rope leading Serena to jump in as well to help. 

“Hurry,” Scott said, furiously untying the umpteenth knot. 

“We’re trying. Did he have to tie the thing in like nine hundred knots?”

“I’ll do it,” Serena said. She quickly maneuvered her fingers to untie rope apart until all of it became loose. When they finally got the cloth to unfold, they were met with a severed head of a wolf. Everyone screamed and jumped backwards. It’s eyes were lifeless, it’s tongue rolled out like it was panting its life breath before it died. 

“What the hell is that?” 

“It’s a wolf.” Scott inched a little to get a closer look. 

“Yeah, I can see that. I thought you said you smelled blood, as in human blood.”

“I told you something was different.” 

“This doesn’t make sense.”

“Even if it doesn’t, we better get out of there before we get caught. After screaming, I wouldn’t be surprised if Derek came back.” Serena reached for the shovel. “Come on, let’s cover this thing.” Scott grabbed his shovel. 

She glanced up for a minute to check her surroundings, and when she did a purple flower caught her eye. It stood out among the dead leaves and feathers that littered the floor. 

“Do you see that flower?” She pointed in front of them. The boys stopped and followed her finger. 

Scott scrunched up his eyebrows. “What about it?”

“I think it’s wolfsbane,” Stiles answered. Another point for Stiles added to Serena’s book. She was getting impressed with his knowledge on werewolves so far. She dusted off her tennis skirt as she got up. 

“What’s that?” Scott asked. 

“Uh, haven’t you ever seen the Wolf Man?” 

“No.”

“Lon Chaney Jr.? Claude Rains? The original, classic werewolf movie?” Stiles said. Serena smiled at the memories of watching the old movies back when he used to beg her to watch it with him.

“No. What?”

“Oh, you’re so unprepared for this,” Serena said, making her way to the flower. She easily pulled it up but out followed a span of rope attached to it. She continued to pull and soon she found herself moving in circles almost like she was tracing a spiral. 

“Guys.” Scott nodded towards the hole. 

“Holy…” 

Serena joined at their sides. Her mouth fell open. No longer was there a dead wolf but a dead girl staring up at them. 

“Do you know her?” Stiles asked Serena. 

She shook her head. “No, she doesn’t look familiar.” She wanted to say it was Derek’s sister but she never met the girl and she never got a notification that he found the body. Then again, she was the only person to have died recently and she was buried behind his house. She kept the information to herself. 

Stiles wiped his mouth, whether it was from anxiety or disgust from the body she couldn’t blame him. This wasn’t a sight you get to see everyday in Beacon Hills. Scott looked around and gestured for them to head back to the Jeep. 

“We better hurry, he might come back.” 

“Are you going to report this in?” Serena followed in their footsteps. 

“Of course! There is a dead body at Derek Hale’s house,” Stiles said, putting extreme emphasis on Derek’s name. 

“But, what if he was hiding it? You know, so that people don’t know about werewolves.”

“Why are you defending him?”

“I’m not!” She clenched up her fist making Stiles spaz out a little. “I just think we need to think this through.”

The next morning, Serena found herself trudging through the forest again after receiving a text from Scott that she needed to be at Derek’s. He didn’t add much to the text except for the words “hurry!” She spotted him by the baby blue Jeep, and alongside that she spotted yellow tape and some deputies walking around the place. 

“You called them?” 

He sheepishly grinned. “Stiles did.”

“Oh my god…” Just as she said that, Derek appeared behind a deputy, hands were cuffed behind his back. She avoided his gaze but Scott remained defiant. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Stiles walking towards the car where Derek was in. He had on a gray blazer, probably to appear more professional. Scott and her made the same panicked expression at each other and turned around in embarrassment as their best friend entered the car. 

“What is he doing?” She said through clenched teeth. 

“I wish I knew too.”

After a couple of minutes they turned around to see Stiles being pulled out of the car by his father who didn’t seem pleased that his son was interfering in official business. He came back to us with his tail between his legs. 

“What did he say to you? Derek, I mean,” Serena said. 

Stiles crossed his arms. It was adorable seeing him trying to appear professional. “Just that Scott may be in danger of transforming during the game. You know, information that we already know.”

“Guess there’s not much we can do except wait for the game.” 

Stiles gestured for everyone to get in the car even as to place a hand on Serena’s back. She wasn’t sure if she liked it but it certainly threw her off a bit. They drove out of the woods and onto the road they went.

Serena and Scott were tasked with looking up information on their phones about wolfsbane being used as a ritual piece. 

“Do you know anything? You’ve been in this werewolf business then we have,” Stiles said, looking in his rear-view mirror. 

“Sorry to break it to you, but I’m just as new to this as you guys are. I only know so much but not enough to know about the complex working of wolfsbane or killer werewolves on the loose.” She brushed her hair behind her and continued to scroll. “You have to remember, I’m more on the cat fence then the dog fence.” 

“What do you have?” Stiles asked Scott. Serena looked to see Scott leaning against the window a little too much. She furrowed her brows.

“I can’t find anything about wolfsbane being used for burial.”

“Just keep looking. Maybe it’s like a ritual or something, like maybe they bury you as a wolf.” Serena was going to put her two cents in but Stiles kept on going. “Or maybe it’s like a special skill, you know? Like something you have to learn.”

Scott shifted in his seat. He was starting to look uncomfortable. “I’ll put it on my to-do list, right underneath figuring out how the hell I’m playing this game tonight.”

She placed a hand on Scott’s shoulder and rubbed it. 

“Maybe it’s different for girl werewolves,” Stiles continued. 

“Okay!” Scott yelled, startling her to drop her hand. “Stop it!”

“Stop what?” 

“Stop saying werewolves! Stop enjoying this so much.” He clenched his teeth in agony. 

“Scott, are you okay?”

“No! No, I’m not. I’m so far from being okay.”

Stiles glanced at his best friend's sudden change in behavior. Usually Scott wasn’t the one to yell or shout at anyone. “You know, you’re gonna have to accept this, Scott, sooner or later.”

“I can’t…”

“Well, you’re gonna have it.” 

“No! I can’t breathe!”

“Stiles! Pull over!” Serena commanded. 

“Why? What’s happening?” The car started to swerve and shake on the uneven road. It didn’t help that Stiles attention was switching from Scott’s pain to trying to keep his eyes on the road. 

Scott reached for Stiles’ backpack on the floor. He opened it up to find the wolfsbane rope they found last night. “You kept it?” Scott and Serena yelled at the same time.

“What was I supposed to do with it?” 

“Throw it away!” Serena said. 

“Stop the car!” Scott’s eyes changed to yellow and his fangs began to bare under his lips. Stiles quickly slammed on the brakes and put the car into park. He grabbed the bag from Scott and rushed out of the car to chuck all of it into the nearby woods. Scott couldn’t handle his transformation and sped out the other side. Serena was too slow to grab his shirt or something to stop him so she hopped out of the back seat not giving Stiles a chance to realize that both of his friends vanished behind him. 


	6. Second Chance (Part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the night of the big game and the night that Serena has dread. Since they couldn't stop the game from happening, she has to wait and see if Scott truly can withstand his transformation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoy! and sorry for the long wait!

Serena followed his scent all the way to Allison’s house. Of course, she should’ve known. She hid behind a bush across the street to avoid being seen by the Argents. There she noticed a shadow climbing up on the roof. She readied herself to jump in and stop him when all of a sudden, he flinched and jumped down. The headlights of a car came down the road and out came Scott. She covered her mouth when he collided with the SUV. They exchanged a few words but judging from how Scott’s eyes fell open at something Allison’s father had said she assumed it wasn’t good news. 

Serena looked a little closer at Allison’s father. She was sure she saw him before but she had no memory of seeing him when she went to her house the first time. When Scott departed from them, he walked down the driveway where Serena met up with him. He jumped a little as his best friend appeared out of nowhere.

“You alright?”

“I’m fine. But, I’m not so sure if I should play the game tonight.”

“You really don’t have much of a choice. Coach is definitely not going to bench you and I know you do want to play it’s just a matter of turning or not.” She looked to see his face in a frown. “You’ll be fine. Trust me, just don’t think about it too much.” 

They managed to get to his house and to the school just in time to get to the game. Before Scott headed into the locker room, Serena stopped him by gently tapping him on the shoulder. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“You might have come up with the conclusion, but did Allison’s father look familiar to you?”

He looked around to make sure no one was in earshot to hear their conversation. “The other night in the woods, he’s the one that shot me. I’m surprised you didn’t make the connection before.”

She smacked her forehead. Of course. She should've made the connection but a small part of her thought it would be too much of a coincidence. Argent means silver and what beats a werewolf? Silver. 

She shook her head like she was trying to get rid of water stuck in her ears. “I’m surprised at myself too. No wonder I thought I heard her name before. But that means the girl you like, her father is trying to kill you.” Scott’s eyes went wild with fear. “Or not! Just don’t think about that! Think about winning the game and making us proud!” She gave him a quick hug and left to get to the field. 

The cold air whisked past her. She cursed herself for wearing a skirt, not even her tights were helping. She pulled her coat closer to preserve the warmth it gave. 

“There you are!” Lydia strutted up to her side. Her eyes narrowed when they scanned the field. “Are you waiting for your friends?” There was a slight venom to that sentence. Serena wasn’t sure if Lydia was mad with how often she was hanging around her old buddies. Probably scared it’ll bring down her popularity status, Serena thought. 

“Scott and Stiles?” Speaking of the devil, the two were walking up towards the benches. Lydia stomped away towards them. Stiles was caught off guard as she went head to head with his best friend, probably wondering how he managed to get her attention. 

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Stiles said, placing down his bag. He sat down on the bench. He looked back to see Serena still standing behind him. “Aren’t you going to sit with her?” 

“And miss this?” She took a seat beside him. “Anyways, with how Lydia’s been obsessed with Jackson and winning this game I doubt I want to stick around.”

Coach walked past her but retracted his steps upon seeing a girl on the bench with the rest of his team. “Do you even play lacrosse?”

“Morale support.” 

“Now that,” he said to Stiles, “is what I call school spirit!”

Coach left and came in Stiles’ dad. He furrowed his brows seeing his son’s old friend sitting next to him. 

“So, you think you’ll see any action tonight?” he said.

“Action? Maybe,” Stiles answered. And blood, Serena wanted to add but decided to keep her mouth shut. His father walked away to sit on the bleachers. It was a little sad that he knew his son wouldn’t play but it was the thought that counted.

The referee blew his whistle and the game started. The game started out fine. The ball was being thrown around, players tackling into each other, you know the normal brutal game of lacrosse. The ball dropped on the ground open for anyone to take it and score. Scott launched towards it, but Jackson rammed into him to get to it himself. He scored the goal leaving everyone erupting in cheers and Scott on the ground humiliated. 

“Is that even allowed?” Serena asked. 

“You’ll be surprised how much they let go,” Stiles said. 

Scott stopped and looked towards the bleachers. The two friends followed his gaze and saw that Lydia and Allison were holding up a sign that said ‘We Luv U Jackson.’ 

“Brutal.”

“I should’ve known she brought them.” Serena went back to looking at Scott, who was clearly scowling in his helmet. “This is not gonna be good.”

The team huddled up before the next play and of course Scott was the only one left who wasn’t on the plan. Serena strained her hearing. 

“Don’t pass to McCall,” Danny said. 

Stiles noticed the concentrated look on her face. “What? Can you hear them? What are they saying?”

She licked her lips and blew out a sigh. “Don’t pass to McCall.” She could see that Stiles wanted to tell Coach that it was unfair his own team was ganging up on their teammate, but they both knew that talking to him wouldn’t amount to anything since all he cared about was winning the game. 

The referee blew the whistle to signal the players to get ready for the next set. Scott was the only player to bend down at a significant angle. The intense amount of smoke was coming from his helmet. The referee said something to him and all Scott did was slowly nodded. Serena prayed that he didn’t turn yet and he was just to get his head in the game. 

When the referee blew the whistle, Scott dashed towards the ball. All eyes were on him as he ran towards the goal dodging the opponent like they were mere ghosts. He threw back his arm and launched the ball hitting the net. Everyone erupted into cheers. While Stiles jumped and cheered for his friend, Serena sat on the benches still as a rock waiting for the next play to happen. After the cheers went down, Stiles nudged her.

“Aren’t you going to give him morale support?”

“I would if he wasn’t using his werewolf abilities.” That last part she said in a low whisper when Coach walked behind her. 

The next play started. This time the opponent got the ball but froze in his place when he faced Scott. The scared player threw the ball so that it landed right in Scott’s net. 

“Did the opposing team just deliberately pass us the ball?” Coach asked them. 

“Yes, I believe so, coach,” Stiles said. 

“Interesting…”

Scott made his way to the goal and launched the ball even as to rip through the goalie’s stick and net. He was using his werewolf abilities and Serena was on her toes trying to not go on the field and pull him out of the game. Coach and Stiles were arguing with the referee who seemed to be in disbelief that a ball could rip through rope. Her leg started to shake in anticipation. There were about thirty seconds left to the game and all Scott had to do was endure those thirty seconds. The referee blew the whistle and the last play started. 

Scott managed to get the ball, of course with how well he was playing and ran for the goal. Two opposing players stopped on either side of him. Suddenly the whole field stopped, they were waiting for Scott’s next move. Serena could hear faint growling sounds coming from him. 

“Come on, Scott,” she said, under her breath. Everyone waited in silence. The clock counted down and if he didn’t make the shot they would lose. Three seconds to go. As if on cue, Scott launched his stick and the ball went flying through the air landing safely in the nets. Everyone jumped out of their seats as the final horn blew for the game to end. Serena went to look for Scott but someone engulfed her into a hug before she could look for the young werewolf. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around the figure who was no other than Stiles. 

“I’ll be right back,” she said, pulling away from him. There was a weird tingly feeling in her stomach but she chose to ignore it and instead ran towards the school where Scott’s scent was leading. His scent led her to the boy’s locker room where she heard glass shattering and hitting the floor. She made her way inside to find Scott in front of the broken mirror. 

“Scott.”

“Get away from me,” he growled. 

“Control your anger, Scott. Find something that’ll calm you down.” She reached out a hand to grab his shoulders. He didn’t lash out and instead, he allowed her to guide him to the showers. He held himself against the wall, his breathing getting slower. She breathed out a sigh of relief but straightened out when she heard another voice down the hallway. Allison’s voice calling to Scott. She could just take Scott and hide him, but Scott liked Allison. He could also kill her if he tried. But he likes her a lot. Serena racked her brain around as the footsteps were getting closer. She could leave him here to fend off on his own but at the same time, he could hurt Allison. Derek would kill her if he knew she let Scott run rampant. 

Serena started to spaz out. If Stiles were here, he would be proud. Seeing as her heart decided that love was more important than werewolf shifting, she hid behind a set of lockers when she heard Allison’s steps nearing the room. As Allison got closer to Scott, Serena was getting closer to the door. She slipped through the entrance but instead of meeting fresh air, she met a whole face of maroon jersey and a familiar scent. Stiles was about to say something but she pressed a hand over his mouth. 

“Where’s Scott,” he whispered. She jabbed a thumb behind her. He grabbed her hand and dragged her back in. Serena and he peeked around the corner of the lockers where they saw Scott kissing Allison. A slow blush crept on both of their cheeks. 

“I gotta get back to my dad,” Allison said, pulling away from the kiss. Scott just smiled and nodded, their hands drifting slowly apart. “Oh, hey guys,” she teased, seeing the other two best friends hiding. 

“Hey,” they both said. 

“I kissed her,” Scott was practically breathless. 

“We saw,” Serena said. 

“She kissed me.”

“Saw that too. That’s pretty good, huh?” Stiles said. 

Scott blinked in rapid successions. “I don’t know how, but I controlled it. I pulled it back.” He looked to Serena and Stiles. “Maybe I can do this. Maybe it’s not that bad.” 

“Yeah…” Stiles patted the shoulder pads of Scott’s. “We’ll talk later then.” 

Serena pulled him back. She’s seen this before, Stiles dodging the chance to speak but she knew he had some news to tell them. “What happened?”

He looked between his friends who looked at him with worried eyes. “The, uh, medical examiner looked at the other half of the body we found.”

“And?”

“Well, I’ll keep it simple. Medical examiner determines killer of girl to be animal, not human. Derek’s human, not animal. Derek not killer. Derek let out of jail.”

“Are you kidding?” Scott exclaimed. Serena stayed silent. 

“No, and here’s the bigger kick in the ass. My dad I.D’d the dead girl. Both halves,” he paused, “Her name was Laura Hale.”

“Hale?” This time Serena did talk at the same time with Scott. 

“Derek’s sister.”

Serena waved her hands through the air like she was erasing chalk off of a blackboard. “Wait, wait, wait, the dead body was Laura Hale?”

Stiles and Scott shot her confused looks. “Now, why do I feel like you know her by how you said her name?” Stiles inquired. 

“Not personally,” she said quietly. 

“So, you do know her?” Scott asked. 

“Derek told me about her but I never really saw her. Which is why I didn’t identify her when we saw the body!” 

“How exactly close are you with Derek?”

She held up her hands like she was being arrested. “We aren’t that close if that’s what you think. We only knew each other for a few years but if you think we go out and have dinner together,” she stood her ground, “then you are wrong.”

“Why didn’t you say anything about him not being the killer?” Scott asked. Stiles looked like he was about to burst into flames. 

“Technically, he didn’t make a good impression on me when I also saw the body behind his house. We haven’t been exactly on speaking terms since he saw me with you guys.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?” Stiles said, his eyes wild with questions. She was going to get her head bit off from him in the following days. 

“If I said something, you guys would think that I was in on it with Derek, which I’m not,” she added, looking at Stiles who was about to open his mouth to protest. The boys didn’t say anything. “Now that we have that settled, dinner at my house?”


	7. Pack Mentality (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All Serena wanted was a normal week not filled with werewolf business or dead bodies. Maybe she spoke too soon.

Serena’s mom was ecstatic to see that Serena had invited the McCalls and Stilinskis for dinner. They used to do this plenty of times but after Serena and Stiles had their fallout the parents made no effort to try and force their kids to hang out anymore. Her mom still conversed with the parents during their time of separation but made no effort to ask them over for dinner if it meant Serena had to see either of them again. 

The dinner was fine to say the least. The parents chatted quite nicely but the kids were troubled with something. They thought it was because it was awkward but little did they know they were thinking about Derek Hale the entire time. 

“It’s nice to see that Scott’s the star player now,” Serena’s mom said, winking at Scott’s mom. 

“Oh I know!” she said. “I guess those late-night practices did help him after all.”

Serena’s mom glanced at Serena who was dodging her every look. She hasn’t told her yet but knowing how she knew about cat siths and werewolves already, she wouldn’t be surprised if her mother knew. 

“Scott was incredible out there, good job Scott,” the Sheriff said. 

Scott shyly laughed. “Thanks.”

“Maybe Stiles can play next time,” Serena added. 

Stiles’ eyes shot wide open. What made it even more comical was that his mouth was stuffed with spaghetti. 

His dad chuckled. “I love to see that.” There was a hint of sadness in his laugh. It wasn’t like he believed his son would play; it's just that Stiles wasn’t the prime player that Coach wanted to put on the field. He’s been on the bench since he got on the team. 

“I definitely don’t want to be that parent,” Serena’s mom began. “But, when did you guys start talking again?”

“Oh you know, I just missed them so I decided to put our differences aside.” That last part was a lie. They got along but Serena still hasn’t forgiven Stiles. 

“Thank god at that,” Scott’s mom laughed. “I miss having another girl around the house.”

“I second that,” Stiles' dad said. 

The boys glared at Serena who was clearly having an exceptional time with the praise they were giving her. She was always the levelheaded one in the group. 

Dinner ended shortly after and everyone went their separate ways. Once the door was closed, Serena’s mom had her hands on her hips. 

“There’s something up, what is it?”

“What? There’s nothing wrong?”

“I wasn’t born yesterday. Something happened and you’re not telling me! Something’s up with Scott, isn’t there?”

Serena sighed. “Yeah...was it obvious?”

“The game made everything obvious. Is he, you know,” she paused as if someone else was in the house ready to jump in and reveal their secrets, “a werewolf or whatever supernatural thing is out there?”

“Werewolf.”

“I knew it!”

“Aren’t you scared one bit-- that he was bitten? There’s something out there.”

“Of course there’s something out there, it’s Beacon Hills. Look at you, a cat! Thank god your father filled me in on everything or I would’ve been lost.” Her mother led the way to the kitchen where the dirty dishes waited to be clean. She waved behind to Serena to help out.

“But, there’s an Alpha out there,” Serena said grabbing the dishcloth. Her mother handed her a soaked dish. “And frankly, I don’t know if it's Derek or not.”

“Derek Hale? The one whose family died in the fire? He’s back?”

“He’s been back.”

“And you’re wondering what are the odds that he’s back and suddenly the Alpha is back?”

“Yep. But, I doubt it’s him. He would never kill his own sister unless he went berserk. I mean with all that pent up anger I wouldn’t doubt it, but his sister? No.”

Sooner or later, the dishes were all cleaned in the dishwasher where they were getting their final scrub. 

“We should probably fill your father in on some of these things.”

“And freak him out?” Serena said. She added the wet dishcloth to the dryer. When she turned around she found her mother narrowing her eyes at her. “Fine, we’ll tell him. I just don’t want to worry him because he said he wanted me to live a normal life. I’m surprised I even lasted fifteen years of normalcy.”

Her mother dismissed her to go to bed and rest and she was ready to do just that. She hasn’t heard from Derek ever since he got out of jail. She predicted he went full isolation mode after he was locked up. She did feel a little guilty that she didn’t get to warn him on time. She laid in her bed thinking of the possibility that the Alpha that was terrorizing Beacon Hills was still out there. Alphas were terrifying from how her father had told her. He told her stories of Alphas going to lengths of killing their own pack to be the lone powerful wolf or even Alphas who didn’t know the first business of leadership so they made their pack go rampant. 

She turned over to her other side. The next couple of weeks better be normal.

#

“So, are you and Scott like official?” Serena said, closing the door to Allison’s car. Her good friend offered her a ride this morning. She saw that Allison was juggling with a lot of textbooks and papers. “Here let me help.”

Allison shook her curly locks. “No, it’s fine. Pretty much used to it. And me and Scott? I don’t know.”

“But I see a blush coming on,” Serena teased. She twirled her finger in Allison’s smiling face. 

“You’re his best friend, right?”

“We’re using that term loosely still,” Serena laughed. “We still need to catch up on a lot.”

“Do you think he thinks we’re official?”

“Knowing him, yes.” She nudged Allison. “You’re his first girlfriend, I’m sure he’ll do his best to be the best boyfriend ever. And trust me, Scott is a great guy.” She stopped dead in her tracks. Her nose picked up a hint of blood from nearby, and it was a lot of blood.

Allison noticed her odd behavior. “You alright?”

She broke out of her trance. “I’m fine. Why don’t you go on ahead? I have something to do, see you at lunch?” She waved goodbye and set off to find out where the origins of the scent were coming from. Ultimately, the scent trail made its way to the back of the school where Serena saw a bloody bus being examined by police officers and investigators. And all she wanted was a normal week.

A few students were gathering around to see what was going on. She didn’t blame them, this stuff doesn’t happen in Beacon Hills, and she knew exactly who would be near this type of stuff. Going near the double doors, she caught the scent of Scott and Stiles and followed it. She didn’t know it but her nose led her to Stiles first who was by his locker getting his books ready. 

“What the hell happened?”

“Good morning to you too.”

“The bus?”

Stiles zipped up his bag and closed his locker. “Yeah, we saw that too. Apparently Scott thinks he killed Allison. He’s freaking out right now.” 

They walked side by side. “But I was just with Allison, she’s fine. Why does he think he did it?”

“He said he had a dream last night.” They took their seats in English. After the first day, Serena switched her seat so that she was closer to the two of them. This time she was in front of Stiles and next to Scott on the other side. Speaking of the devil, Scott came into the room looking like he saw a ghost.

“So you found her.”

“She’s fine,” he answered. He didn’t have to ask what she was referring to if she was already talking with Stiles. “You don’t think I did that do you?”

“Of course not,” she said. He blew out a sigh of relief. “At least, let’s hope not.” She turned her attention to the teacher who walked in, ignoring Scott’s bewildered face.

#

First period flew by and onto second period which was Chemistry with the one and only Mr. Harris. Serena never liked Mr. Harris. He was smart but he was mean and rude. He should’ve been teaching college courses with how serious he always acted. There was no ounce of fun in that guy’s body. 

“Maybe it was my blood on the door,” Scott said. 

“Could have been animal blood,” Stiles added. “You know, maybe you caught a rabbit or something?” 

Serena tried to pay attention to the lesson. 

“And did what?” 

“Ate it.”

“Raw?”

“No, you stopped to bake it in a little werewolf oven.” This made her smile. “I don’t know, you’re the one who can’t remember anything.”

“Mr. Stilinski,” Mr. Harris called. He never seemed to like Stiles all that much. “If that’s your idea of a hushed whisper, you might want to pull the headphones out every once in a while.” She peeked behind her shoulder to see his reaction. “I think you and Mr. McCall would benefit from a little distance, yes?” 

“No.”

Mr. Harris ignored his comment and pointed his finger to their new positions, one on each corner of the room. 

“Nice one,” Serena muttered. This earned a nice eye roll from Stiles.

“Let me know if the separation anxiety gets to be too much.”

Just as he was about to continue teaching, a girl in the class jumped out of her seat. “I think they found something,” she said.

Everyone scrambled to the window where paramedics were wheeling out the victim of the attack last night. He was still for a second before he shot up and screamed causing the entire class to jump back. Serena looked behind her to see Scott looking the most frightened. She and Stiles went to comfort him. 

“That’s not a rabbit,” Scott said, breathless. 

“But, he’s alive so that’s good,” she said. 

“Yeah, dead guys can’t do that,” Stiles commented. 

Scott’s chest was heaving. “Guys, I did that.”


	8. Pack Mentality (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott scores a double date much to his friends dismay and Serena gets a little note from a certain werewolf to meet up with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part is a little longer than the first due to my stupidity in planning, hope you enjoy though

“But dreams aren’t memories,” Stiles said, placing his lunch tray down on the table. Scott took the seat across and Serena sat next to Stiles. 

“So something happened last night,” she said. She took a french fry to her mouth. 

“And I can’t remember.”

“What makes you so sure that Derek even has all the answers?” Stiles said, rolling his eyes. 

“Probably because he’s the only werewolf in town at the moment with any sense of what to do with Scott,” Serena said.

Scott nodded in agreement. “During the full moon he wasn’t changed. He was in total control while I was running around in the middle of the night attacking some totally innocent guy.”

“Okay, well we don’t know that yet.”

“I don’t not know it. I can’t go out with Allison. I have to cancel.” His eyes were filled with sadness. 

Stiles leaned forward. “No, you’re not canceling, okay? You can’t just cancel your entire life.”

“He’s right. We’ll figure it out,” Serena added. 

Someone set their tray opposite Serena. They scrunched up their brows and looked up to see Lydia joining. “Figure what out?” She shot Serena a smile. She almost forgot she invited Lydia and Allison to lunch today.

“Just, uh, homework,” Scott answered.

“Why is she sitting with us?” Stiles asked, it was more to Serena since she was the closest to the popular kids than her two friends. 

“I forgot I invited them,” Serena whispered. He gave her an incredulous look. “They’re sort of my friends too. I did hang out with them for a few years after you know what.”

“Get up,” Jackson said. 

The poor lacrosse player at the head of the table gave him a confused look. “How come you never ask Danny to get up?”

“Because I don’t stare at his girlfriend’s coin slot,” Danny said. Jackson gave one last glare to the guy before he moved to the other end of the table. “So I hear they’re saying it’s some type of animal attack. Probably a cougar.”

“I heard mountain lion,” Jackson commented. 

“A cougar is a mountain lion,” Lydia said. Serena could see the hint of annoyance in her words. “Isn’t it?” And she plays the dumb popular girl again.

“Who cares? The guy’s probably some homeless tweaker who’s gonna die anyway.”

“What a way to sympathize,” Serena muttered. She and Jackson made mocking faces at each other. 

Stiles pulled out his phone and scrolled through it. “Actually, I just found out who it is. Check it out.” They stopped their bickering and everyone leaned in to see what was on the screen. 

“The Sheriff’s department won’t speculate on details of the incident but confirmed the victim, Garrison Meyers.” A picture of him appeared on screen. He looked like any old nice man you encounter across in the neighborhood. The video continued “--did survive the attack. Meyers was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition.” The broadcast ended. 

“I know this guy,” Scott said. All eyes were on him now.

“You do?” Allison asked. 

“Yeah, when I used to take the bus back when I lived with my dad. He was the driver.” The trio made the same knowing glances to each other. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that the victim was someone Scott knew and whatever killed the man had to be working up the ranks in Scott’s relationship with others. 

Lydia twirled her fork in the air. “Can we talk about something slightly more fun, please? Like oh, where are we going tomorrow night?” She raised her perfectly shaped brows to Allison. “You said you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow night, right?” Stiles and Serena’s eyes lit up at the words ‘hanging out.’ Scott had called it a date prior. “Serena, you should come to. You can bring,” her eyes passed over Stiles. 

“Lydia, we’re not dating. We’re just friends.”

“Oh great, then you can bring Danny!”

Serena and Danny gave each other the look of ‘we’re not going to do this to appease her.’

“I think we’re good, you four can go.”

Lydia gave her a smirk and went back to Allison. “So, have you thought of anything?”

“Um, we were thinking of what we were gonna do.” She didn’t deny that it was just them hanging out which means that it was on the verge of being a double date unbeknownst to Scott who was looking more confused by the second.

“Well,” Lydia prodded her salad. “I am not sitting home again watching lacrosse videos, so if the four of us are hanging out, we are doing something fun.”

“Hanging out?” Scott asked. “Like, the four of us? Do you wanna hang out, like us and them?” Poor Scott looked to and from Stiles and Serena trying to gauge some help from them but they were just as speechless as he was. 

“Yeah, I guess. Sounds fun.”

“You know what else sounds fun?” Jackson interrupted. “Stabbing myself in the face with this fork.”

Lydia pulled the fork down. “How ‘bout bowling? You love to bowl!”

“Yeah, with actual competition.” There he goes again, being a jackass as always. Serena never knew what Scott did to piss off Jackson because he only caught his attention this semester, and throughout their time growing up together they barely glanced at one another.

Allison quirked an eyebrow. “How do you know we’re not actual competition? You can bowl right?” she asked Scott.

“Sort of,” he muttered.

“Is it sort of, or yes?” Jackson challenged.

“Yes. In fact, I’m a great bowler.”

#

“You’re a terrible bowler!” Stiles said. The bell rang to end the day. 

“The last time you bowled was when we were eight at my birthday party,” Serena said. She walked in the middle of them and looked extremely small between the towering figures. 

“I’m such an idiot!” Scott said.

“God, it was like watching a car wreck.”

“First it turned into the whole group date thing,” Serena said.

“And then out of nowhere comes that phrase,” Stiles added.

Scott sighed. “Hang out.”

“You don’t hang out with hot girls, okay?”

Serena slapped Stiles’ arm, and if she wasn’t so nice to him she definitely would’ve done more than a red mark. “Then what do you call it when we hang out?”

“Solving crime.”

“You know what, Scott. Don’t listen to him.”

“How is this happening? I either killed a guy or I didn’t.” Scott wasn’t even paying attention to the other two, he was in his own world. “I ask Allison on a date--”

“I don’t think Danny likes me very much.”

“And now we’re hanging out.”

“Am I not attractive to gay guys?”

“Wait, am I not hot?” Serena said. Now they were all talking in their own world. 

“I make first line, and the team captain wants to destroy me.”

“ Is that why it’s different when we hang out? Because you guys don’t see me as hot?”

“And now--” Scott looked at the time on his phone. “Now, I’m gonna be late for work.

“Wait Scott!” The remaining best friends shouted. 

“Am I attractive to gay guys--”

“Am I not a hot girl--”

“You didn’t answer my question,” they said simultaneously. They focused their attention back to each other. “So what now?” Stiles said.

“We live as normal teenagers, like always.” 

“And wait for more people to die?” Stiles led the way to his car. The baby blue Jeep looked bulky and rusty compared to the nicer and shiner cars in the parking lot. When they got in, he revved the engine on. 

“Let’s not be pessimistic. As long as Scott keeps his head low, we’re fine. And let’s hope Derek--” Stiles rolled his eyes hearing the other werewolf’s name come out. “Isn’t the rampaging werewolf and he’s really a decent guy like I knew him back when then we’re good. Mind driving me to practice?”

“You’re still doing martial arts?”

“How do you think I learned how to fight? Now let’s go before I’m late.”

He drove out of the school’s lot and towards the dojo downtown. “And remind me why you still trust Derek?”

“Because we’re friends. We have been since the beginning of eighth grade.”

“Why am I starting to hate the fact that you were speaking with Derek Hale after we broke things off?”

“Because he came to me first. He wanted an alliance so we talked.”

“And you trusted him?” He took the turn into the driveway where the martial arts dojo was held.

“Our trust is on the brink, but unless he turns a full one-eighty and brutally murders someone, I’m giving him a little ounce of trust.” He put the car in park and she got her bags out of the back. “Trust me, he’s not  _ that  _ bad.”

“I trust you, him I don’t trust.”

She hummed her response and got out of the car. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Do you need me to pick you up after?”

She shook her head. “My mom will pick me up, but thanks for offering.” 

“Anytime, but if you hear anything from--”

“Derek or Scott I know I know, I’ll tell you. I mean who else would I tell at this point? Jackson?” She laughed. Stiles rolled his eyes at the mention of the team captain. “I’ll see you later!” Stiles waved goodbye and drove out onto the road. 

Serena entered the dojo and saw that the class was already being taught. Her dojo master quirked an eyebrow outside, it was more than likely he was referring to Stiles. She shook her head at him to tell him to forget but after she came out in her uniform he went up to her. 

“I thought you guys don’t talk anymore. What’s the sudden change?”

“Why do you care anyway? We had a fight and now we made up. You know, friend things.”

“A fight that caused you guys to stop talking for years. You guys were inseparable along with Scott. By the way, is he doing okay? With the asthma and everything? I remember when you took them here one time and he was already knocked by two sessions.”

“Scott’s fine, actually he’s more than fine,” that last part she mumbled. “But, let’s just get on with the practice, I'm itching to finally kick some ass.”

He held his hands out. “I forgot to tell you, someone dropped by to give you a message.”

She scrunched her eyebrows together. “Really? Who?”

“He didn’t give a name, but all I know was that he wore a dark leather jacket and he looked very angry.”

She didn’t have to think twice about who he was referring to. “And what did he say?”

“Something about meeting him at his usual spot, whatever that means. I hope you’re not getting yourself into trouble Serena. Your dad would be furious if he hears about this guy.”

It was Derek. Who else wears a leather jacket in this town? 

“Oh trust me, I’m the one that should be furious.”


	9. Pack Mentality (Part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serena and the boys go to the bus to see if Scott truly killed the victim. Serena gets a visit from a certain sour wolf.

After practice, Serena made a straight path to Derek’s place. As she got to the woods, she spotted a familiar mop of hair trudging his way up the hill. “Scott?” She jogged up to him. The sound of her boots shuffling the leaves made him turn around. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked. He looked more concerned than she was for his safety. 

“I should ask you the same thing. Did Derek ask for you?”

He shook his head. “Did he ask for you?”

“We’re about to find out.”

She led the way to the house. “Derek!” No response. “I know you’re here I can smell you.” Again, there was no response. Here comes her desperate plea. “We need your help.”

He immediately appeared through the front door. He had a scowl on his face, then again he always did but this scowl screamed disappointment and anger against both of them. 

Serena was the first to speak. “Look, I know we were a part of you getting arrested, sorry by the way.” He rolled his eyes. 

“And we basically announced you being here for the hunters,” Scott added. “I also don’t know what happened to your sister.” Again, Derek held no expression on his face except the scowl. “I think I did something last night. I had a dream about someone. But someone else got hurt. And it turns out that part of the dream might have actually happened.”

“You think you attacked the driver?” Derek asked. 

Scott looked to Serena for help but she just shrugged. “Did you see what I did last night?”

“No.”

“Can you at least tell me the truth? Am I gonna hurt someone?”

“Yes.”

“Could he kill someone?” Serena questioned.

“Yes?”

“Am I gonna kill someone?” Scott finished. 

“Probably.”

The two teenagers groaned, more so for Serena because Derek was giving one-word responses. Scott was probably thinking about this possible danger to Allison during the date. 

Derek shoved his hands in his pocket. “Look,” they turn to him. “I can show you how to remember. I can show you how to control the shift, even on a full moon. But it’s not gonna come for free.”

“What do you want?” Serena said.

“You’ll find out. But for now, I’m gonna give you what you want. Go back to the bus. Go inside. See it, feel it. Let your senses -- your sight, smell, touch -- let them remember for you.”

“That’s it? Just -- just go back?” Scott looked to Serena to see her reaction but she was more lost than he was. 

“Do you want to know what happened?”

“I just want to know if I hurt him.

“No, you don’t. You want to know if you’ll hurt her.” Serena knew Scott couldn’t disagree. All he was thinking about was Allison and the date. One false move and Scott could be turning into a werewolf at a bowling alley in front of everyone.

Scott didn’t question further and stepped off of the broken house. Serena told him that she’ll meet him later with Stiles. When she mentioned their best friend’s name Derek did the biggest eye roll that she was sure that it was going to stay at the back of his head. 

“What’s your problem?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“My problem? Your friends called the sheriff on me, then I was put in jail for killing my sister. And once they found it was a wolf that did it, they released me, but now the hunters know I’m back.”

“Okay, I see your point.”

“Shouldn’t you be on the lookout for Scott on his date tomorrow night?”

“I have no intention of being there as a third wheel so Scott doesn’t wolf out. That’s why he asked for your help. Anyways, enough about him, why did you ask me?”

Derek leaned against one of the beams. “To ask you to keep an eye out for the other werewolf.”

“Of course I know that, why do you have to repeat it?”

“Because with how you’re hanging around your friends, I’m starting to think that you’re forgetting the bigger threat.”

She stood up to him. She was a tad shorter so she had to look up to match his eyes. “I know what I’m doing. Scott’s going to be fine, I’m going to be fine, the other werewolf is going to be fine. As far as we know he’s moving slow, that means he’s not a bigger threat than we thought.”

“I hope you’re realizing by now that he’s not killing because he wants to. He wants to attract Scott’s attention.”

“Why would he?” Sometimes she wished she wasn’t so dumbfounded. The whole werewolf life is so complicated, she was glad she was a cat. 

“How do you think Scott got his powers? Huh?”

“He got bit.”

“Think Serena.”

“He got bit by a werewolf, what’s the big deal?”

“How do werewolves transfer their power?”

“By a bite,” she rubbed her eyes. “Derek, just tell me.”

“You have to learn to. What type of werewolf can transfer their power?”

“Type? There’s a beta, omega, and alpha.” She closed her eyes.“An Alpha. He’s the one that bit Scott.”

“Now he’s trying to lure him.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Why didn’t you just tell Scott this?”

“Do you think he’ll believe me?”

“Should I tell him then?”

“Do you think he’ll believe you?”

“Maybe!” she said, throwing up her hands. “I’m his friend and I know a thing or two about this werewolf stuff.”

“Then you need a lot of convincing to tell him it’s not me. Because right now, he thinks I’m the threat.”

#

Stiles picked up his supernatural buddies at Scott’s house and headed to the school when night fell. They planned that it was the best time since there shouldn’t be anyone patrolling around there at this hour. When he parked, Scott immediately hopped out with Serena in tow. Stiles took a little bit of time since he had to shut off the engine. 

“Whoa.” Serena held out her hand to stop Stiles from climbing the fence. “What do you think you’re doing.” 

“Helping.”

“I just have to go,” Scott said. “You guys can keep watch.” Serena nodded but Stiles thought otherwise. 

“How come we’re always the one keeping watch?”

“Because Scott needs to do this alone. If he gets caught he’ll have an easier time getting out,” Serena said. She nodded to Scott to get a move on. 

Stiles wiped his mouth. “Okay, why is it starting to feel like you’re Batman and I’m Robin. I don’t want to be Robin all the time.”

“Nobody’s Batman and Robin any of the time,” Scott said.

“Not even some of the time?”

“Just stay here.”

“Oh, my God! Fine.” Stiles stomped away back to the Jeep. He was tracking water from how he was dragging his feet against the pavement. 

Serena’s eyes followed Scott’s movement until he hopped down on the other side. She was a little proud because asthma Scott would never have accomplished that. “You’ll be fine right? If something happens, I’ll jump right in.” 

“Of course.” 

Serena walked backward, not breaking her gaze from his back. She was hoping that whoever the Alpha was, he wasn’t planning on coming back. She stood by the driver’s window where Stiles was already seated looking glum than ever. 

“Do you think he knows what he’s doing?” Stiles asked. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. The rhythmic sound calmed her a little but watching Scott’s silhouette disappear into the bus made her anxious. 

“He should know. Derek told him what to do.”

“And you believe him?”

“He’s the only werewolf in town who isn’t trying to tear up our throats. I think it’s safe to say we should believe him.” Serena used her hearing to track Scott’s movements. So far so good, he’s just walking down the aisle between the seats. “You have plans tomorrow night?”

Stiles perked up. “No, do you?”

“Great, let’s hang out, since that’s all you do with not hot girls.”

“Who said you’re not hot?”

It was her turn to look excited. “You think I’m hot?”

“Not Lydia hot,” he grimaced. Serena calmed herself to not cause another murder near the school. It was always Lydia for him. Lydia was the standard for him and yet the girl never glanced in his way. She turned her attention back to Scott’s little sniffing adventure in the buses. 

“Look, I--”

“Stiles, look.” Serena pointed behind the buses to a faint light coming out of the corner. Stiles noticed quickly and started to hit the horn repeatedly. Serena took the cue to run to the passenger seat to get in the back so that Scott can have a quick getaway. 

They saw their best friend run out of the buses and Stiles revved the engine up to get the Jeep started. After Scott jumped the fence, a ten out of ten if he was a gymnast, he rushed to the passenger seat shouting at Stiles to go. 

“Did you see it? Did you remember?” Serena looked behind her to make sure they were out of sight from the deputy. 

“Yeah, I was there last night.” His chest heaved with adrenaline. “And the blood - a lot of it was mine.” 

“So you attacked him?”

“No, I saw glowing eyes in the bus, but they weren’t mine. It was Derek.”

“But, what was the color?” Serena could just tell them of the over werewolf but from how certain they seemed it was Derek she knew it was hard to change their mind. 

“Does it matter?” Stiles interjected. “What about the driver?”

Scott slowed his breathing so that he came out as a steady rhythm. “I think I was actually trying to protect him.”

“Wait, why would Derek help you remember that he attacked the driver?”

“That’s what I don’t get.”

“It’s got to be a pack thing,” Stiles said. Serena looked at him with confusion etched on her raised brows. 

“What does that mean?” she asked. 

Stiles gave her a look that said, “I thought you already know this.” But she shrugged. “Like an initiation. You do the kill together.”

Scott narrowed his brows together. “Because ripping someone’s throat out is a real bonding experience?”

“Yeah, but you didn’t do it.” Serena gently tapped Scott’s shoulder with the back of her hand. “Which is a good thing,” 

Stiles grinned. “Which means you’re not a killer. And it also means that-”

“I can go out with Allison.” Scott had the widest smile she ever saw. 

“I was gonna say it means you won’t kill me.”

“Oh,” he looked to Serena for backup but she was already shaking her head, “yeah. That too.”

They made it to Scott’s house where he left with a little pep in his step. The two remaining best friends rolled their eyes seeing their werewolf friend so giddy about his discovery that he’ll no longer worry about murdering Allison. Stiles dropped off Serena next and they said their goodbyes before she entered her home. 

When she entered, she didn’t notice that the lights were out until she saw the creeping darkness sneak up on her. Usually her mother would be up writing her manuscript or editing someone else's but it seems like she wanted to call it night. After taking off her shoes, she tiptoed upstairs trying to avoid any creaks and squeaks. She opened her door to her bedroom ever so slowly and closed it ever so slowly. 

“Finally, I can sleep.” She flicked on the lights to see Derek standing at the corner with his hands in his jacket pockets. As she was about to scream, Derek ran over and slapped his hand over her mouth.

“Do you want to wake up your mom?”

She muffled her response under his hand. He took his hand after he felt saliva lather on his hand. He grimaced and wiped his hand on his jacket. 

“Why are you even here? Couldn’t you just text me and warn me before hiding in my room? Because frankly, it looks weird.”

“What did he find?” Derek said, ignoring all of her questions.

Serena walked over to her closet. “That he didn’t do it.” She took off her coat and placed a coat hanger through it. Her mother always taught her to hang her jackets and coats and the one time she didn’t she got an earful.

“And that he suspects of you still killing the driver.”

“And you didn’t defend me?”

“If you met them, there’s nothing getting past their first verdict, especially Stiles’ intuition. Anyways, it’s not like you’re making a good case for yourself. Sneaking in a teenager's room, hiding bodies behind your house, and leaving creepy messages for other adults to get so they can send them to me. Yeah, I should be defending you alright.”

“Fine,” he muttered. 

“Oh, by the way--” Serena turned around to only find that she was alone again in her room. The window to her room was opened with the wind blowing her curtains. “Nevermind…”


End file.
